Wow! Email certainly has come a long way from the computers at MIT, where it was first conceived back in 1965. As this infographic illustrates, email’s journey is punctuated with numerous momentous events, including:

1982 – First known use of the word “email” (actually, “e-mail,” then).
1988 – Microsoft Mail is released for the Mac
1997 – Yahoo! introduces Yahoo! Mail
2007 – Google makes Gmail available to the worldwide public

And that brings us to today, when the estimated number of current email users is a staggering 1.3 billion.

Over the years, email has matured into an essential communication tool. (Case in point: In 2008, then Presidential candidate Obama amassed a database of more than 13 million email addresses.) As a result, email is now one of the most important tactics marketers can use to reach consumers.

At Aprimo, we’ve seen firsthand how email continues to be a cost-effective, efficient and potent way to engage with customers and drive purchases, despite the fragmentation of audiences by social networks, texting, etc. In fact, it appears that instead of depleting email’s effectiveness, other online capabilities actually reinforce it. As MediaPost reports, a new study by Forrester Research, in collaboration with GSI Commerce Spring Attribution Research, found that:

“About 4% of new consumers are influenced by an email and use one other tactic to find the product, compared with 17% of repeat customers using email and one other tactic. Some 30% of transactions by repeat shoppers start with a click on an email from retailers.

Direct traffic remains critical to sales. So, while search and email drive conversions, social media works best to bring awareness to brands, products, and services.”

Are you convinced email should be a core component of your marketing mix?